Vending display cabinet and container for said cabinet



2 Sheets-Sheet H. C. HODGKINS Filed April 2,

NDV. 26, p1929.

' VENDING DISPLAY CABINET AND CONTAINER FOR SAID CABINET Nov. 26, 1929. H. c. HoDGKlNs 1,737,156

VENDING DISPLAY CABINET AND CONTAINER FOR SAID CABINET Filed April 2, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToR #Wa/e mis #mika/2s ATTORNEY y mais@ HAROLB CRT-E ED-l', OF PORTLAND, OREGON VENDNG DESPLAY CABINET AED CGNTANER FOR SAID CABINET Application filed l-lprl positive conditions.

Moreover, cabinet ord' act of opening a display irily imparts some movement to the contai er, which heretofore rests un` secured upon the container supporting meinber. Such container when filled with said r 1 I' a* .C

goods, weighs rrom six to iourteen pounds.

ln movin@ the container into onen oosition considerable nomentum is developed, so that 20 it may become dislodged from its proper to the ensuing shoclr, This l ionable, particularly because said con operating parts of the cabinet are made to t to a high degree of nicety, (as close as one-siii y-fourth to one-thirty-seeond of an inch),-all to the end that said cabinet will be sealed when in closed position. llith the Container even slightly out of its aroper position, the act of closing the cabinet is unimgec ed until towards the end of the throw, and then the striking of the container against parts of the cabinet results in severe straining, if not complete rupture of the container supporting member mountings. l/Vhen the discovery is made that the container has been thus dislodged, the operator have to re-open the cabinet and adjust the container, so that the cabinet may be tightly closed. Such delay is particularly objectionable with a number of customers waiting to be served. The-re peated striking of the dislodged container results in such opening of the joints of the mounting iixtures that the cabinet is no longer propo ly operable and no longer tight against insects and dust. A primary obj-ect of my invention is to overcome these highly objectionable results.

Furthermore, many classes of goods, particularly cookies and such pastry articles,

position owing is highly 1925. Serial No. 20,138.

absorb moisture from the air. lt may be a matter of weeks and even months before the sales result in disposing of the contents of a given container, so that in certain sea` sons of the year or where there is great humidity in the air, as along the sea-coast, the saleableness of such pastry products is greatly lessened, if not lost, after such goods have been stored for a considerable period of tima-the customer insisting on freshly baked goods as opposed to cstale goods. it primary object of my invention is the provision of a case which will be moisturetight, and will lreep such goods fresh and crisp.

The container for pastry consists ordinarily of pasteboard material, and the contents cause a bulging of the boX intermediate the corners. This bulging is helpful when the container is used in a vending cabinet as herein set forth, in that it helps provide a sealing for the cookies by making a very tight lit along the sides and the bottom, and it is a purpose of my invention to talre advantage of this outwardly directed pressure to provide a tight sealing for the products in the containers. l/Vhen the cabinet is in closed position, it is manifest that the weight of the cookies, since the container is inclined, will cause the lower end of the boX to press outwardly against the front board, and the said bulging will cause the sides of the container to press tightly against the end Walls of the cabinet, but this leaves the difliculty of no outwardly directed pressure against the upper end wall. A primary object of my invention is to provide a sealing strip which will press against the said upper end of the container and cause a sealing of the container along the said upper edge, said sealing means so engaging the bor as not to come in contact with the contents of the container, and thus complete a sealing on all four of the upper edges of the container rlhe above mentioned general objects of my invention, together with others inherent in the same, are attained by the device illustrated in the following drawings, the same being merely preferred exemplary forms of embodiment of my invention, throughout wall is unsupported by the sides, so that it may be pressed forward by the sealing strip 2G secured to the back member 19. In this wise, the stealing strip is caused to exert a pressure against the end wall and it is free to be yieldingl i pressed forward. Thus, a sealing cont-act is eflectually made between the facing of the sealing strip and said con- `tainer upper portion, and at the same time said upper portion acts as a guard against the facing material coming in contact with the edibles within the container.

Thus, it is manifest that the container engaging means Q4, which nrecisely locates and positions the container, cooperates with said sealing strip 2 and the top sealing strips 28 in bringing about the complete sealing of the container, the sides of which container are first pressed into straight lines, i. e., the container is squared to overcome the bulging eflect, and the edges caused to engage sealing strips.

A modified form of notch 39 is shown in Fig. 8, wherein the edges of the notch approximate a .right angle. Preferably, however, said edges should form an obtuse angle, and a modified form of sealing strip 40, as shown in Fig. l0, is provided with facings 4l, 42 and 48, which respectively engage edges 44 and 45 ofthe notch and end wall of the container.

In F ig. 11 the bulging tendency of the containers is shown in dotted line and the walls of the cabinet, together with the sealing strip,

- are shown in full lines as the means of pro viding the high degree of sealing which is provided by my invention, so that the cabinet is not only dust and fly-proof, but also moisture-tight. lt is to be remembered that moisture-tight may mean the confining of a high degree of moisture Within the cabinet if the goods, such as cigars, are of a character which requires a high degree of moisture, as well as the excluding of moisture when the contents of the cabinet are such as to require said exclusion.

In F ig. 9, a modified form of container engaging means is illustrated, the same being of the auto-hood retainer type of clamp 49, consisting of a member 46 which is pi votally secured to the container supporting member 1'? and a telescoping member 47 which is connected to said first member 46 by means of a spring 48, said clamp 49 being designed to reach to the top of the rear end wall of the container.

ln Fig. l2, a modified form of container is provided with cleats 50. The purpose of said cleats is to operate in conjunction. with the grooves 5l disposed in the modified form of container supporting member 52 illustr ted in Fig. 13. The grooves are adapted to receive the cleats ofthe container shown in Fig. l2, and thus, manifestly, keep the container from moving backward or forward or side- Wise, i. e., operate as a container retaining means.

The mode of operation of the vending display cabinet embodying my invention has been set forth in partin conjunction with the above description. It must be remen'ibered that the cabinet must be positively tiglit-lit ting in every joint; any dislodgment of the container from its proper place results in jamming of the mechanism, which upon repeated opening and closing produces a great deal of play or opening in the joints, so that the cabinet parts do not function properly and leave openings. By providing a container engaging means, my invention results in a positive positioning of the container when it is placed in the cabinet, and also said means maintains the container in said position against unintentional dislodgment when the cabinet is opened for the removal of some of the contents. l? rom the drawings and from what has already been set forth above, it is clear that the sealing strip 26, which is preferably located on the back member, operates to bring a pressure upon the end wall of the container, which sufliciently guarai tees a tight seal as respects this part of the container, which otherwise cannot operate in connection with the cabinet parts to form a seal, because the baci: member 19 cannot be well used to apply pressure against the end wall. have said member function in that manner would require providing eXtra springs and the like, and the strength of said springs would necessarily be relatively great as compared with the pressure necessary to slightly force forward the upper unsupported edge of the container having the preferred form of l! -shaped notch. At the same time, the sealing strip, herein indicated, provides ample pressure between said unsupported upper portion of the container and the facing carried by the said strip. Also, it is desirable to have one side of the container unconstrained by the walls of trie cabinet, so that the repeated opening and closing of the cabinet will not result in subjecting the contents to inwardly directed pressure, which might break the brittle pastry contents. Having the rear end wall free. of Contact with the back member allows this space as a take-up for any laterally directed pressure, or any pressure that mav be developed against the front end wall.

Obviously, changes may be made in the forms, dimensions and arrangement of the parts of my invention, without departing from the principle thereof, the above setting forth only preferred forms of embodiment.

l claim:

l. A vending display cabinet embodying a case providerl with a transparent cover; a container supporting' member hingedly and slidably connected to the case and adapted to be moved to a closed position so as to be open to inspection through the cover and to be drawn out ot the case for removal ot goods deposited upon it; a back member pivotally mounted to said cabinet; means pivotaliy connecting said supporting member to said back; a sealing strip disposed on the inside across the top portionoit said back member; a container for goods; and means mounted on said supporting member, Whereby said container may be iixedly held against i unintentionai dislodgment during the' opening and closing operation oi th'ecabinet, said container being` so held as to be enga-ged by said sealing strip.

2. A vending display cabinet embodying a case pro-vided with a transoarent cover; a container supporting member hingedly and slidably connected to the case and adapted to be moved to a closed posit-ion so as to be open to inspection through thel cover and to be drawn out of the case tor removal o `goods deposited upon it; a back member pivotally mounted to said cabinet; means pivotally conneeting said sup porting member to said bach; a sealing strip disposed on the inside across the top portion oil said back member; a container for goods, having anotch in one end portion; and means mounted on said supporting member, whereby said container may be ixedly held against unintentional dislodgment during the opening and closing operation of the cabinet, said container being so held as to be engaged as respects the said notch by said sealing strip'. l

3. A vending display cabinet embodying i a case provided with a transparent cover; a

container supporting member hingedly and slidably connected to. thek case and adapted to be moved to a closed position so as to be open to inspection through'the cover and to be di'aivn out of the case for removal oit goods deposited upon it; a container engaging means disposed on said supporting member; a baelr member pivotally mounted to said cabinet; means pivotally connecting said supporting` member toL said back; a sealing strip disposed on the inside across the top portion ot said baclr member; a container for goods, having` a notch in one end portion and an opening in the bottom ot said container and means mounted on' said supporting member, whereby said container may bev iXedly held against unintentional dislodgment during the opening and closing operation ot the cabinet, said container being so held as to be engaged respects the said notch by said sealing strip.

el. In combination With a vending display cabinet. a container operatively disposed in said cabinet, and a container engaging means in the Yform otn a transversely disposed strip having rod eyelets and a raised rib member adapted to protrude into theJI bottom of said container.

5. In combination With a vending display cabinet having a sealing strip along one end portion and a movable container supporting member having container engaging means, a container embodying. a notch adapted to receive said sealing strip.

6. In combination with a vending display.

ceive said sealing strip, and means adapted l to receive said container engaging means.

i. In combination with a vending display cabinet having a movable container supporting member, a container embodying one endV piece ot less height than the opposite end piece and the end portions ot the sides adjoining said end piece of less height than the remainder of the side portion, and an opening in the bottom of said container, Which is adapted to receive an upstanding rib positioning member, whereby, when said container is in closed position, said container may be heid securely and sanitarily tightly sealed.

8, In combination With a vending display abinet having a sealing strip along one end portion and a movable container supporting member having container engaging means, a. container having an inner and an outer bottom, the inner bottom being dividedA longitudinally in the center, said container embodying a notch adapted to receive said sealing strip and said container having an opening in the outer bottom oit said container disposed in the iongitudinal axis, said opening being adapted to receive said container engaging means.

9. In combination with a vending display cabinet embodying a removable container having an aperture in the bottom thereof, a container engaging means operatively disposed ivith respect to said aperture of said container, whereby said container may be releasably maintained in operative position.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 23d day of March, 1925.

HARGLD CURTIS I-IODGKINS. 

